


To Hunt a Witch

by chibali



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, F/M, Family Secrets, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-10-07
Updated: 2013-06-15
Packaged: 2017-11-15 19:19:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/530784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chibali/pseuds/chibali
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a medieval society in which magic is frowned upon, Jade is at risk for being a witch in secret. Will she be able to escape the witch hunts? Or will love get in the way?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The sun shines through a cloudless sky.

“Hey! Let go of me! What did I even do wrong?”

Birds chirp overhead as they soar through the air.

“You’re under arrest for being accused of witchcraft. Your trial is tomorrow at noon.”

Your name is Jade Harley and you picked a perfect day to go shopping in the market.

Just perfect. 

And by perfect you mean absolutely horrible. 

Here you are, minding your own business, when these guards come out of nowhere and arrest you. Resistance is futile at this point, so you give up resisting. The dungeon they throw you into is cramped and full of the stench of previous prisoners. It’s dim, dank, depressing–everything a dungeon should be. 

You sigh inwardly and slump down in the corner, fanning out your muddied skirt at your bare feet. Shoes are for the weak, as you like to say. Water drips onto your hand from the ceiling and what seems to be a fresh leak. You compile a makeshift bed of straw and prepare for a long night. You miss home already. It’s a good thing you already have a plan for getting there, but it will take time.

The drips of water are gradually drowned out by approaching footsteps. A flickering shadow dances in the torchlight as it descends the stairs. The shadow soon takes a physical form in a tall, blonde guard when he turns the final corner into your line of vision. At second glance he looks about 18, your age. He takes his station silently, staring blankly at the wall behind you. Time to put Aunt Roxy’s teachings to the test. 

She always said to use your feminine charm if you ever needed to get out of trouble, but to be honest you never really knew what she meant by that.

“I’m innocent, you know.” 

“That’s what they all say,” he remains emotionless.

You suppose that’s expected. Maybe phase two would work better? Now standing, you brush down your skirt and attract the guard’s attention. You catch his glance and look him in the eye. Are... they red? No, must be the light... He keeps a steady eye, watching your every move. Either he’s making sure you don’t do anything stupid, or Aunt Roxy’s methods are working. You assume the former is more accurate, but you don’t give up hope yet. 

“Are you really going to kill a poor, defenseless girl like me?” you make sure to flutter your eyelashes the way you were taught. He rolls his eyes, a sure sign of its ineffectiveness.

“Like I said, you’re not the first.”

Dammit. You huff and go back to your corner, kicking a stray clump of straw on the way. Well, there is... that... you consider all the methods of escape you can. Unfortunately, most require an absent audience. For now, you’ll just have to hope this guy takes a beer break or something. 

You stare him down from your corner, taking in every detail the light could show. From sandy blonde hair, to mysteriously colored eyes, and to the shimmer of exposed chainmail. He must be a knight, to be wearing that around the castle. With an overall glance, he actually seemed vaguely familiar, like he reminded you of someone. But who? 

Your thoughts are interrupted with a commotion from the stairwell. Another boy, dressed in what appear to be royal garments, jumps to the foot of the stairwell with a thud. His dark hair flops over his eyes, and he promptly brushes it out of his face before confronting the knight. 

“Dave! I need to talk to you about an upcoming mission! Report to the meeting room now!”

You found his enthusiasm a bit much, but your focus rests on the knight’s name. Dave... Where had you heard that before? 

“But sire, the prisoner–”

The newcomer–who you are now assuming is the crown prince, based on his clothes and title of “sire” from the knight–suddenly turns and makes direct eye contact with you. His bright blue eyes shock you with some sort of familiarity. You can tell he feels it, too.

“Who’s this?”

“A recently accused witch.”

The prince ponders this for a moment, but shakes his head and turns back to the knight.

“I’ll get another guard down here, now come on!”

He looks back at you, then vanishes up the stairs. The knight follows quickly.  
Now’s your chance.

You focus your mind on home, the dungeon around you fades into the background, and with a flash of green light, and home you are. Phew. That was close.

So what if you’re actually a witch? The knight didn’t have to know that.

“Jade! There you are! I was soo worried about you!” a drunken cry comes from behind you. Before you can even turn to face her, Aunt Roxy pulls you into her arms, and her unkempt blonde hair smothers your face. You hug back, glad to be in the company of family.

“Where were you?” 

Uh oh. She won’t be happy about this.

“I was accused of witchcraft and arrested,” you mumble into her uncombed hair. 

Roxy pushes you away and looks you sternly in the eye.

“You were what?”

“I didn’t do anything, I swear! It was completely uncalled for!” 

Roxy stares you down for a moment, searching for the truth in your words. Finally, she releases you with a sigh. 

“Honestly, you have to be careful out there! If anyone actually found out–”

“I know, I know,” you’ve heard this lecture too many times to count. Ever since you were little, Roxy lectured you on the dangers of using magic in public, and how you would be killed if anyone outside of the family found out. 

According to her, you’ve always had magic. She once mentioned how your mother had been a witch in secret, but died giving birth to you. You wish you could’ve met her. Sometimes, when you’re on the verge of sleep, you can vaguely imagine what she might have looked like, but then it’s gone. You don’t know what happened to your father. Roxy refuses to talk about it. Only that she took you into her care because it wasn’t safe to leave a magic child unguarded in this day and age. 

Roxy raised you as her own, along with her own daughter, Rose. Through the years she taught you how to control your magic, and Rose took an interest and began learning from spellbooks as well. The rest is history.

All of a sudden, the door opens with a slam. You and Roxy both turn to face the newcomer. He was breathing heavily in an attempt to catch his breath. You recognized the silhouette at the same time as Roxy, though she spoke first.

“Dirk? What are you doing home?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Golly, first posted fanfic ever! I've been watching too much Merlin lately, which is where this idea came from haha
> 
> I'm still an amateur writer, so I'm hoping to improve my skills as I write this. 
> 
> Hope you stick with me and enjoy!


	2. Chapter 2

It’s a rare sight to see Dirk home. Due to his knighthood, he remains at the castle most of the time. It was a sacrifice Roxy made to move away from the castle in order to raise her kids on her own. Dirk is able to come home occasionally, just as Roxy is always allowed to visit. The thing is, he normally sends a letter before visiting, meaning this must be urgent.

“Did something happen?” Roxy persists when she receives no response from her first question. 

“I heard there was an escape just now. The king sent the royal guard out on a hunt, so I came as fast as I could to warn you. I knew a certain someone who matched the description particularly well,” he makes eye contact with you, sending your glance the other way in embarrassment. “Be careful out there. My little man’s leading the hunt, and growing up in the company of those who despise magic has left him almost as bad as the king.”

You often hear about Rose’s brother, but he left at a young age to train for knighthood, so you’ve never met him. You don’t even know his name since no one really talks about him. When he was younger, a near-death experience left him overly cautious about even the slightest hint of magic. Ever since then you’ve had to stay in your room when he came home until you gained control of your powers; Roxy didn’t want to risk him telling the king about you. 

Only recently had you gained control over your powers, which is why you were allowed to go to the market in the first place. Guess that won’t be happening again anytime soon. When you were younger you would sneak away to go watch the villagers, but you were careless back then; someone must’ve seen you lose control of your powers for a second in the past and accused you. If only the king didn’t hold such a vendetta towards magic, life might be so much better for everyone.

“Where’s Rose? She should hear this too,” Dirk’s voice breaks through your thoughts.

“Don’t worry, I heard everything,” a smooth voice sounds from the staircase behind you. You turn as Rose enters the foyer, letting her skirts fall to brush the stone floor. A thick spellbook is tucked under her arm, probably one she had been studying before you showed up. “I’m glad to see that you’re safe, Jade. I’ve been having strange dreams lately, hopefully this will be the worst that comes out of the whole scenario. Only time will tell.”

Rose started having prophetic dreams when she turned 13. According to her, they show her “the most fortuitous path” or something. You never really understood what she was talking about, but you do know that her choices have benefitted you in the past. One time she insisted that you postpone a riding trip for no reason other than her dream saying so. Turns out it stormed for almost a week after that, harshly damaging some of the countryside. 

“Shouldn’t you be getting back to the search, Dirk?” Rose continues. “Don’t want the rest of them coming back to find you.”

“Yeah, I’ll head out now. I’ll keep the search away from here, so don’t worry too much. I’ve got it covered.”

With a quick kiss for Roxy and pats on the head for you and Rose, Dirk speeds out into the looming night. Time must’ve passed faster in the dungeon than you realized. There’s a long pause before you decide to change the topic. It’s best not to stay too focused on the witch hunt for now.

“So Rose, did you find a spell to help my flowers grow?”

“Hm?” she looks up, a bit dazed from thinking. “Oh, yes. But there are some special ingredients we need to acquire somehow.” She flips open her book to show you some circled plants. You’ve seen them around before in the forest nearby, and that knowledge begins the formation of a plan.

“I know where to get those, I can get them tomorrow!” 

“Oh no you don’t,” Roxy cuts in. “I know what you’re thinking, and I–”

“Please Aunt Roxy, I’ll be super careful! I can take care of myself, you know!” 

“I don’t want you leaving this house, young lady. I was just like you as a kid, and look where it’s got me!” She holds up the bottle she’s been drinking from for good measure. “A life of wine and parties. I’ve learned to hold my liquor since childhood...” she continues rambling on a drunken rant. You’ve gotta admit that she hides her drunkenness impeccably well these days. As she talks, your mind wanders.

It’s not your best idea to sneak back to the market after what happened there last time, but you love the thrill of danger. It’s totally not because you’re curious about why you felt that strange recognition with the crown prince. Of course not. Never. But really, what was with that? You could swear you’ve never seen the kid before in your life. Then why did he seem so familiar?

Of course, there is the chance you might run in with his knight friend, which would definitely cause some problems. Good thing you have a plethora of escape methods up your sleeve. It’ll be just like trying to get around Roxy and a family strife, no big deal at all. 

All of a sudden Rose pulls you up to her room away from Roxy, who’s still ranting to no one about her childhood and growing up. 

“Jade, if you’re planning on sneaking out tomorrow, I know I can’t stop you, but please take this.”

She hands you a dark velvet riding cloak, folded neatly into a rectangle. Unfolding it, you find a new pale green dress to replace your current ragged tan one. 

“Just so that you’re not wearing the same old thing they caught you in the first time. Make sure to keep the hood up at all times,” she paused, collecting her thoughts. “I... had another vision. Your best future came from me helping you now. This is the most I can do for you. I put an enchantment on the cloak, a void spell I found in one of Roxy’s old spellbooks. It should keep people unaware of your face as long as you wear the hood. You won’t be completely invisible, but you’ll look just like any other person out there.”

You look down at the cloak in your hands, contemplating the kind of magic it must have taken to put that kind of a spell on it.

“Thank you so much, Rose,” you finally respond. 

“It’s no problem at all. Now go get some rest. And I do expect you to actually get those ingredients I showed you, it’s your garden, your responsibility.”

“I will, I promise,” you laugh. “Goodnight, Rose!”

You’ve got a big day ahead of you, you can only hope it all goes according to plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally finished chapter 2! 
> 
> Sorry this was mostly an explanation chapter. Don't worry, some Strider style will be coming within the next couple chapters.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

The blinding rays of sunlight wake you early in the morning. You roll over with a groan, pulling your blankets up to cover your sensitive eyes. It takes you a second to adjust to the daylight. After last night’s excursion, you want nothing more than to sleep, but training is early and you’ll have your ass kicked if you don’t show up. You heave yourself up out of bed and slip into your training clothes. Stifling a yawn, you grab your sword and find your way to the training fields. 

At this time of day, you only see a few servants busily rushing through the halls, preparing meals and going about their daily chores. You get a glimpse of fellow knights here and there, all heading to the same place. A sudden weight falls onto your back, catching you off guard.

“Hey little man, get any sleep last night?” 

You groan and shove Dirk off to the side, only to have him swing back into a steady pace with you. 

“The King wants to meet with us again after training about the witch hunt, so you’d best lighten up,” Dirk continued. “Don’t want you to be too tired to show up.”

He punches you lightly with his last comment, to which you punch him back, a bit harder. 

“A Strider is never too tired, you should know that by now,” you retort. He scoffs.

“Hey, I’ve been through more than you, this is a competition you’re not gonna win.”

You smirk. Despite how you act around each other, you really do enjoy Dirk’s company. Sometimes, when he goes away on long trips, you miss him a lot. You’d never let anyone know it, but the feeling’s still there. Sometimes the Egberts are a bit draining. You can’t help but wonder what the king is planning with the hunt.

“So, stuff like this hasn’t happened before? I’m sure a witch could’ve escaped at least once.”

“Nope, the really powerful ones like that are never actually around here. The few accusations we get are always manageable. And to be honest, I’m not sure what he’s got planned for this one girl if she vanished into thin air. We’ll just have to wait and see what the king wants us to do.”

Your anticipation makes training seem to last forever. Every strife drags on, each knight suddenly determined not to lose. By the time training ends, the sun glares down on the courtyard, heating the sweat on your forehead. You wipe it away with your sleeve, your breathing heavy after a long training session. Before you know what’s happening, Dirk is whisking you away from the courtyard to meet with the king.

You’ve only been to the king’s study once or twice when you were younger and John needed to speak with him, but it’s still just as impressive as you remembered. Shelves line the walls, and books line the shelves, passed down the family line for who knows how many years. John says Sassacre’s is the oldest book in the room, it’s been around since before the king’s childhood days. Not that it should even be called a book, the thing is enormous as hell. You could kill a cat with it. But Roxy would kill you if you did that, so you quickly disregard the thought.

“I trust you know why you’re here?” the king’s voice sounds from an ornate chair facing the glowing fireplace. Dirk responds promptly.

“Only that you wish to speak with us about prolonging the witch hunt, your majesty. If I may be so bold, why are we being so persistent with this one? A long witch hunt might worry the people, sire.”

The king stands, turning to face you and Dirk. His vivid blue eyes are just like his son’s, you notice. You can tell he’s concerned about this witch, years of Strider influence have made you pretty good at reading faces. 

“John told me she seemed familiar. Familiarity with a witch is a bad sign. I fear for my son, I don’t want him being taken by magic as well. He’s all I have left. Which leads me to my reason for calling you here. Dave, I want you to protect John. Please, stay here while your father and his knights go out to continue the search.”

You normally hang out with John when you’re not on duty anyways, so you’re a bit relieved when you hear the king’s assignment. Spending time with your best bro is no big deal in your mind. 

“Dave, you can go now. But Dirk, stay here, I need to talk with you more about the plan.”

The king waves you off, and you politely bow before taking your leave, giving a brisk nod to Dirk as well. Exiting the study, you step into the hallway, your steps echoing across the walls. The castle is usually quiet by now, workers are busy in their respective rooms, and others are attending their duties in the city. You enjoy the silence, it gives you time to think as you walk. 

You think back to what the king said. How could John be familiar with a witch? You’ve been bros since before you can remember, and he certainly never mentioned any witch encounters that didn’t end at the stake. When it came to hunting witches, the Egbert family was the best. It’s never been your business to know why, but John’s dad has a serious thing against magic. You’ve always supposed he has good reasoning, so you’ve started to take his view as well. Magic is dangerous, from what you’ve seen, and though you don’t like to remember, it did almost cost you your life. The king has trained his knights specially to be able to handle witches to the best of their ability, which is why only the truly powerful escape. You pride yourself in your training, but for some reason, you find yourself glad that you didn’t have to continue with the hunt today. Something about that girl... You wonder if it’s the same sort of thing John mentioned. You make a note to ask him when you see him.

You pass extravagant archways draped with blue silk, walls lined with paintings of past kings and family portraits, you recognize John’s dad among them. As you take in your surroundings, you realize just how many plants the king has placed throughout the castle. Blue petals fill the halls, you remember Dirk once mentioning them being called Forget-Me-Nots. No one really knows why the king insisted on the presence of the flower, rumor has it he ordered for them around the time John was born to commemorate something, or someone, who had been lost. Everyone assumes they’re for his wife, who died in childbirth. It makes good enough sense, so you leave it at that. 

You arrive at the prince’s room only to find that it’s completely empty.

“Guess I gotta find Egbert before I can ask him about the witch,” you mutter to yourself. You start making your way again through the empty halls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so soo sorry I haven't updated in what, months? I've been going through a huge writer's block and just creativity block in general, so that's what's been up. 
> 
> Other than that, I'm hoping to keep updates more regular from here on out, I promise I'm not abandoning the story until it's over!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

==> Dave: Find the Prince.

You already have a solid idea of where John would be, assuming he’s still in the castle. You last saw him at training, and usually there’s only one place he goes after a long training session. Sure enough, you begin to hear the faint tune of a harpsichord coming from down the hall. John loves the harpsichord, he’s told you on multiple occasions how much he enjoys it. You can easily admit that he’s by far the best musician you’ve heard on the harpsichord. Listening to him play relaxes you as you approach the door. Opening it as quietly as possible so as to not disturb him, you step inside, setting your eyes on the familiar mop of black hair moving in time with the slow song. It seems familiar in some other way, but you can’t quite figure out why.

==> Jade: Sneak out.

But how can you sneak out when you’ve already left?

Sneaking out was the easy part, sneaking in is another story entirely. Sure, you can teleport, but you’ve never been inside the castle, save for the dungeon, and there is no way you’re going back in there anytime soon.

Despite what people might think, there are rules to magic. Trying to transport somewhere you’ve never been is dangerous, you could end up anywhere. There’s no telling if you’ll end up in the middle of the throne room or a pantry, let alone even in the right castle. You need to know exactly where you’re headed for transportation to work properly. And if you accidentally transport to the wrong place, you don’t have enough control to be able to transport right away again. Transportation is some serious biznasty, but you’ve gotta admit, it’s really fun. You only wish magic were accepted so you could transport anywhere without fear of being caught. Now you’re forced to sneak out into town like a regular person.

Thanks to Rose’s enchanted cloak, you’re able to fit in just fine with the people of the town. Surrounding people move around you to and from homes along the streets. The fresh aroma of newly baked bread fills the air as you pass the bakery. You can hear the clang of the blacksmith’s tools ringing in the distance over the sound of everyday banter. People bargain prices, more and more scents mix together in a jumble, loose animals wander through the streets. 

Suddenly, you notice something. A white mass moves warily between houses, keeping side to side with the wall of a house as it slinks further into an alleyway. Slowly, you approach it, slipping past busy kiosks into the shadows of the alley. The mass stops and looks up, as if it heard you getting closer. You see now that it’s a dog, clearly a stray, all dirty and dangerously thin with mats in its once pure white fur. It’s sniffing the air, ears tilted toward you, but it otherwise hasn’t moved a muscle. As you get fully around it your heart drops. 

The fur around the dog’s face is stained with dried blood, and its eyes are missing from their sockets. You examine from a distance the claw marks around where it should have eyes, and think of the horrible run-in it must have had with another animal only recently. You get down on your knees as slowly as possible, pull an apple out of a basket that you had brought with you, and set it in front of the dog carefully. It’s ears flick forward and it moves away before cautiously approaching the new smell of the apple. Within seconds it begins to eat and finishes as quickly as it began. It stops and sniffs once more, noticing the scent of more apples coming from your basket. You pull out another apple and hold it out in front of you. After eating the apple, it goes on to sniff and lick your hand, and you take the chance to slowly stroke its fur. 

“You poor thing...” you whisper softly, watching the dog’s ears perk at the new sound.

As much as you’d love to stay with the dog, you have work to be done and bringing a stray animal would ruin your cover. Taking the cloth that had been covering your basket, you rip off a strip and use it to promptly tie your hair back under your hood. You then take the rest of the cloth and loosely tie it around the dog’s neck, a tactic you like to call the “forget-me-knot” method. Sometimes your memory is a little faulty, so a while back you started tying strips of different colored fabric around your fingers and wrists to help you remember. Seeing as random knots of fabric might be seen as improper in the castle, you decided to tie your hair up this time.

You pull yourself up off the ground, patting your new furry friend as you do so. You brush off your skirt and take a good look around before anything else. You’ve learned that you have a very acute skill of taking in your surroundings, and you quickly but carefully take in every detail of the alley. Every stone, every puddle, every dirty patch of fur on the dog, you look at it all. You save it in your brain and match it with your “forget-me-knot” hair tie, keeping it tucked away for future use. And by future, you mean hopefully in at least an hour or two. You bend over and scratch the dog’s head one last time.

“I think I’ll name you Becquerel, or maybe just Bec for short. Stay here and wait for me, okay? Then we can go home together and you can have all the food you want! We’ll clean you up and make sure you’re fully taken care of, don’t worry!”

You don’t want to leave Bec behind, but you have no choice. Hoping he somewhat understood what you said, you set off for the castle, sparing Bec one last glance before turning out of the musky alley and into the looming shade of the castle.

Looking up at it from the marketplace, the castle is huge. You have no idea where you might find the prince or if he’s even around right now. Winging it is probably the most horrible idea you’ve had all day, even worse than coming in the first place, but here goes nothing. You take a deep breath before approaching the massive door, clutching your basket tight to your chest, then loosening your grip to appear more natural. A small group of servants is entering about the same time as you, and you join in as casually as possible. 

You realize you’re probably being more suspicious by trying to not be suspicious, but you’re in the castle and so far so good. The servants didn’t notice and neither did the guards so you’re on the move. You try to trail at least one other servant as much as possible before finding a quiet area where no ones around. You take the chance to look around and plot where you’ll go next. Considering how long you trailed that last servant, you figure you must be pretty far into the castle. Maybe even close to wherever the prince is, who knows. 

You glance at the tapestries placed every now and then on the wall. The gold trim on a royal blue velvet background makes an imprint on your mind. You brush your fingers against the luxurious soft fabric and continue looking down the hall. You noticed an abundance of Forget-Me-Nots all throughout the castle, and you think back to Bec, waiting in the alley for you, but also to something else. More of an instinct, really. A gut feeling telling you where to go. 

You start through the trail of blue, watching out for any guards walking the halls and taking cover if someone is nearby. When the coast is clear you walk confidently towards nothing in particular, always surrounded by an abundance of little blue flowers with yellow centers. You take moments to stop and listen, and finally, you hear it. The quiet melody echoing through the halls. You recognize it, probably because Roxy always sang it to you when you were little. All at once, you find yourself drawn to the music, following your ears while still carefully avoiding any guards. This is it. It has to be. 

You draw near the partially open door in front of you, peeking in through the crack. There he is, the crown prince, heir to the throne. John Egbert, in all his glory. You push off your hood, opening the door bit by bit in the process. What should you do? What should you say? This boy you think you know playing a song you know by heart. You slip in the room and stop dead in your tracks. 

Of course the knight would be with him, why didn’t you think of that? The prince wouldn’t be alone by himself unguarded! This is what you get for not planning properly. You’re too busy mentally yelling at yourself to notice the knight moving quickly towards you and only when the prince’s playing stops to look at what’s happening do you notice it’s too late. A strong hand is around your wrist. The prince is saying something, but you’re not paying attention. You look straight into the knight’s (definitely red) eyes and, with as much force as you can manage, swing your basket full of apples at his face, dropping the contents all of the floor after impact. It’s enough of a shock to get him to loosen his grip and you sprint out the door. You think the prince is yelling for you to wait, but there’s no way in hell you’re doing that. The blur of blue flowers fades from your eyes as you focus your thoughts on the alleyway.

Step, step, flash! 

Okay, you miscalculated a little. You land in a pile of straw, blinking repeatedly to get adjusted to the darker light. A familiar lapping at your hand brings you back into focus. 

“Bec! Hey boy! Look, we gotta go fast, okay? I’m gonna take you home now!” 

He must sense something in your voice because he stops licking your hand and instead starts nudging you up out of the pile. You pull up your hood and keep you hand near Bec to guide him out of the alley. Walking as quickly as you can without seeming conspicuous, you make your way out of the city. Past the bartering people, past the young children playing in the street, past the merchants and the drunks and the servants. Bec keeps up with you well, to your surprise. 

The warning bell tones just as you get through the city gate. You look back as you walk, imagining the search parties that must be heading out looking for you. Bec whines at the noise, but you scratch behind his ears to tell him it’s okay. As soon as you get far enough away from the gates, you break into a run, calling for Bec to follow. His senses of smell and hearing are spectacular, you’ve noticed, which must be how he can follow you so well. 

After a bit of a trek, you slump down against the side of your home, breathing in deeply. Bec comes and sits by your side, panting vigorously. You look up at the sight of your garden and–

Oh no... Rose’s ingredients for the growth spell... You forgot that they were in the basket that you smacked that knight with. The one that then left its contents on the floor of the prince’s music room. 

Dammit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longer chapter this time!
> 
> I'm hoping I'll be able to get one more chapter out before finals next week, hopefully, but if not, finals might make the next chapter take longer to come out, we'll see!
> 
> Thanks for reading and I hope you all stick around for more!


	5. Chapter 5

“Well, at least now we know how she escaped the dungeon...”

You roll your eyes at John. A throbbing pain pulses from where that witch hit you. She has a surprisingly strong arm. You try to rub the pain away, to no avail.

“Milord! Are you alright? I heard a commotion and saw–well, I don’t know _what_ I saw, but were you in harms way?”

John opens his mouth to answer, but you quickly interject.

“That witch came back for some reason, probably trying to get to his Highness. Go sound the warning bell.”

John shoots you a glare as the servant runs off into the hall.

“You didn’t have to tell him that,” he states irritably.

“What, and let her escape unnoticed? It’s my job to protect you and protect the the kingdom, I can’t just let a dangerous witch run free.”

“Stubborn as always...” he mumbles, bending down to pick up the contents of the witch’s basket. You subconsciously go to help him. Can’t have the crown prince going around picking up other people’s messes. You pan over everything sprawled on the floor. Generic things, for the most part. Apples(lots of them), herbs, spices... Your eye catches on a small piece of paper. Picking it up, it appears to be a list of ingredients, all of which you found on the floor among the apples. A look of concern spread across your face. Not because of the ingredients on the list, but because of the handwriting that made the list. Even after months, maybe years, you’d still recognize that distinguished handwriting anywhere.

“Dave?” John stood holding the basket, everything neatly replaced in it. You glance back down at the paper in your hands. It’s a spur of the moment decision, and you really hope you don’t regret it later, but you quickly take the basket from John before giving yourself time to think it over.

“If you don’t mind, I’m gonna take the rest of the day off and return this.”

John’s skeptical face made you reconsider instantly.

“You know where she is?”

“No, but I might have an idea of where to start.”

“I bet she’ll just run away when she sees you. Not every girl in the kingdom falls for your ‘Strider charm’ you know.”

“Please John, all the ladies love me,” you respond ironically, flipping your blonde hair over-dramatically as you do. John laughs, so you know he’s not too pissed at you for what you did earlier. Sometimes you two have your disagreements, but it usually doesn’t take long for things to get back to normal. He may be the heir of the whole kingdom, but he was your best friend, after all.

Suddenly you hear the warning bell toll, echoing throughout the halls and the city as well. Took them long enough. The bell rounds off its toll, letting silence fill the room once again. To your disappointment, it doesn’t last for long.

“So how exactly do you plan on finding her?” John slumps back onto the bench in front of the harpsichord, lightly tracing the keys as he talks. “I hope you don’t plan on killing her on sight.”

You take a moment to consider your plan. To be honest, you hadn’t really thought about what you were gonna do when you found her– _if_ you found her, that is. Your actual plan hadn’t concerned the witch at all, but your sister, Rose. You were determined that she would lead you to the witch. It’s been a while since you’ve been home, but you always felt like you had a pretty strong connection with Rose. As to why the witch had that note and that basket, you’re fairly certain you know the answer, though you don’t want to accept it.

“Relax, I’m going home to my sister first,” you say, carefully avoiding his second comment and showing him the note in your hand. “I found this in the basket, it’s Rose’s handwriting, I’d know it anywhere.”

You watch as John’s eyes scan over the list. He doesn’t know Rose as well as you do, but you can tell he trusts your senses on the matter.

A sudden knock comes from the door and you and John simultaneously turn to see his father standing at the door, a worried look on his face.

“Dad! What’s wrong?”

You both know exactly what’s wrong, but neither of you want to know what’ll happen if the king finds out the truth. You, personally, don’t want him to know that a witch got by you. It would hurt the Strider reputation and you don’t want that. John, on the other hand, is probably genuinely concerned about what his dad would do the witch if he found out and then found her.

“I heard the warning bell. I was worried about you, son. Are you alright?”

You and John exchange a quick glance before he quickly responds, “We’re fine dad. You’ve got nothing to worry about. I’m sure whatever caused that bell has been taken care of already.”

The king sighs heavily, though you can tell he’s not entirely convinced. He enters the room and takes a seat next to John, who scoots over on the bench to make more room. John looks up at you, then the basket, then your face again, signaling your chance to get out. From the looks of it, the king’s about to go on one of his fatherly rants, and there is no way you’re wasting your precious time listening in on that.

“Your Highness, if I may take my leave now,” you announce your exit properly, waiting for the king’s orders.

“Yes, thank you, Dave, you’ve done well.”

With a curt bow, you turn and close the door on your way out. You just hope John’s okay in there, he complains all the time about how overprotective his dad is. He seems like a pretty good dad to you, just doing his job and worrying about his only kid.

The walk home seems to take forever now that you’re actually anticipating your arrival. It’s late afternoon by the time you can actually see the house. Smoke is furling out of the chimney, Roxy must be cooking dinner. Your stomach growls at the thought of food, and you wonder how you haven’t eaten one the many apples yet. You suppose it’s not your place to take someone else’s food, even if that someone is a witch who hit you in the face. Knight’s honor, and all that.

When you approach the door, you can hear voices inside chatting. You can’t make out who’s talking or what they’re talking about, but you don’t make much of it. With a brisk knock, you call inside.

“Hey Rose, Roxy, am I in time for dinner?”

The muffled talking stops abruptly, and you hear a quick commotion before Roxy opens the door, brushing her wild blonde hair out of her face.

“Dave!” she cries and hugs you, almost too ecstatically. You choke a bit under her grip. “We weren’t expecting you! Come in! You _are_ just in time, as usual!” she laughs a bit, though she seems somewhat uncomfortable. Whether it’s because of your presence or too much alcohol, you can’t tell. She just barely checks behind her before pulling you into the house.

“I made lamb stew, I hope that’s okay. We weren’t expecting a visitor,” she coos, walking towards the cauldron heating over the fire. You’ve learned that she’s a surprisingly decent cook, for someone who’s drunk three-fourths of the time. Sure, it’s not the best cooking in the world, and sometimes it can get a bit charred, but for the most part it’s good, edible food.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” you say casually, looking around at the house. “I was actually looking to talk to Rose, is she here?” You could’ve sworn there was definitely more than one person talking before, so she must be.

“Of course, she’s in her room, let me go get her for you,” Roxy’s words come out in a blur. You could’ve easily gone up to get her yourself, but before you know it, Roxy’s figure is disappearing up the staircase and you hear her voice calling, “Rose! Your brother’s home!”

You don’t remember things being this awkward around here. You look down at the basket hanging from the crook of your arm.

You really didn’t wanna be right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please forgive me for the what, months long delay? I've had a lot going on with school and conventions, but now I finally had a chance to focus on writing!
> 
> Thank you so much for your patience and I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Also a huge thanks to my great friend Neoru for getting me back in the writing mood!


	6. Chapter 6

You wait patiently by the fire until Roxy rushes back downstairs, Rose close behind her. She’s more graceful than you remember, her hair being cut short like her mother’s. Last time you were home, her hair was past her shoulders. You can’t help but feel proud about how your little sister has grown. 

“Welcome home Dave! How are you?” Her voice is smooth and calm, unlike Roxy’s. She gives you a gentle hug before awaiting your response.

 “I’m doing alright,” you aren’t quite sure how to bring up your reasons for coming, but thankfully, you don’t have to.

 “I’m assuming that’s why you’re here?” Rose points to the basket still hanging from your arm. Her peaceful expression wavers a bit, and you can tell she’s worried. As always, she knows exactly what you’re up to.

 “Please tell me you aren’t harboring the witch. I don’t wanna have to turn you in,” your voice was straightforward, but with a hint of desperation. They may be family, but your duty to the king comes first.

 The two females exchange a knowing glance.

 “I have a feeling you already know the answer to that,” Rose answers calmly.

 You sigh. Just what you were afraid of. 

 “Dave, please. Before you do anything, I’d like to tell you a story,” Roxy states, somewhat more confident than before. She pauses, scrunching her face as if making a tough decision. Seemingly coming to a conclusion, she turns and speaks again, “Rose, go find her while I talk to him.”

 This must have taken Rose off-guard. Her skepticism shows on her face when she turns to you, but she quickly regains her composure and walks briskly out the back door.

After she leaves, the only sound is the crackle of the fire combined with the slight bubbling of the stew. Roxy stirs the mixture slowly, tasting it and adding spices gradually.

 “Almost done,” she murmurs to herself. 

 You take the liberty of sitting down at the table as she continues stirring. She starts humming softly, and, to your surprise, you recognize the tune. It was the same one John was playing earlier today. 

 “That’s–” you break off, realizing you didn’t even know the name of the song.

“I know,” Roxy says quietly, still stirring. “It’s a lullaby. I used to sing it a lot while I still lived in the castle.”

 You knew she lived in the castle once, that’s not news to you. She was the king’s ward until she married Dirk and came to live out here. 

 “Dave,” her voice became serious. She turned to look you in the eye. “What I’m about to tell you I haven’t told anyone before. Not even the king knows this.”  

Your shock must have shown on your face because her look softens and she puts the spoon down and sits next to you.

 “Do you know why the king keeps all those flowers in the castle? The Forget-Me-Nots?”

 “Aren’t they for his wife or something?” 

 At least, you’ve always just assumed they were for his wife, but you weren’t so sure anymore.

 “In a sense, they are. That’s what he wants the people to think, anyways. That’s where my story begins.

“Once upon a time, there was a kind king and his beautiful queen. They were tolerant and accepting and generous to their people. One day, a wild witch after money and infamy killed many people, including the king’s own mother, in a violent display of power. A meteor shower, to be exact. It affected the whole kingdom, and left me without a family. My father was a family friend of the king, so he took me in as his ward.

 “Well, that witch is the very reason the king hates magic so much. After that he started witch hunts, looking for revenge against that witch. In time, her forgot his true reasons for hunting witches and it became senseless killing. Don’t get me wrong, aside from that he’s still a good man; John means the whole world to him. It’s just when magic is involved, he never gives the innocent a chance. He’s only seen the worst kind. The kind that terrorizes, that destroys.”

 “But he says all witches are dangerous, even if they claim to be good,” you’ve come to believe it yourself, from personal experience.

 “That’s where you’re wrong. I have reason to believe that the king’s good wife was a witch in secret.”

 You try to keep your face as stoic as possible, but you’re finding it more difficult by the minute.

 “What reason is that?” you press the question, genuinely curious.

 “Twins, the poor woman. Hardly anyone can survive twins. If she really was a witch, she probably could have saved herself, too, but she didn’t want to because she knew the king hated magic.”

  _Twins?_ Now that was news to you. You always thought John was his only son.

 “I know what you’re thinking. John’s the only heir to the throne. Let me finish the story.

 “Yes, the queen gave birth to fraternal twins, a boy and a girl. I was about 16 at the time, and had recently married Dirk. (Yes, you’re lucky we didn’t marry you and Rose off sooner like us) She didn’t last for long after childbirth, but before she died she asked me to watch her children for her. I had been planning to move in with Dirk here, but we decided to put it off for a year to get the kids situated.”

 She pauses, gets up to stir the stew again, and sits back down. With a deep breath, she continues her story.

 “It just so happens around that same time I was expecting you, so getting used to children was good experience. (I see you grimacing it’s not that embarrassing Dave) Well, I took care of them and played with them and all that, but one day I noticed something. Some of the toys were getting bigger, while others were getting smaller. You’d just say I was going crazy, but that’s not it. One day, the princess transported herself a few feet across the room. I couldn’t believe it myself. I figured the queen must have been a witch for this to happen.

 “I’m sure you’ve figured it out by now. That witch, the one you’ve been chasing, is the princess of the kingdom. That’s why I decided I couldn’t let her live in the castle without being able to control her powers. By the time I figured that out, I had already given birth to you. I went home with Dirk, as planned, but I came back secretly a day later. I kidnapped the princess and took her in as my own. I changed her surname from Egbert to Harley, and told people who asked that I had found her abandoned in the city. 

 “The king was devastated with the loss of his daughter, and I still feel guilty about that today. He didn’t spread the news of the loss, he just kept it to himself. That’s what the Forget-Me-Nots are for. They remind him of her. It’s been so long since then, no one remembers. Like you, everyone believes John is the king’s only offspring.

 “To be honest, I’m surprised you don’t remember growing up with her. Sure, you started your knight training early on, but that’s a good couple years you spent together. Then you were attacked at such a young age by that hag of a witch and you started sharing the same mindset as the king; I couldn’t risk you finding out there was a witch in the house. So she started hiding whenever you came home, her magic becoming more powerful and less controllable. 

 “I’ve been helping her, teaching her to control her powers. I may not be a witch myself, but I grew up in a time when it was accepted. I know how it works. Though maybe I have a bit of magic in me, since, I might as well tell you, Rose is a seer, too.”

 For some reason this doesn’t hit you as hard as the rest of the story. Rose always had that sort of an aura about her. With everything you’ve heard just now, you’d believe anything easily.

 “And that brings us to present day. I hope you understand that not all magic is bad, you just need to give it a chance. I trust you won’t tell the king. Or anyone else for that matter, even those involved.”

 Something in her look hinted horrible consequences if you did. As much as your gut told you to tell, at that moment Rose opened the back door, breathing heavily.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t find her. She must be deep in the forest somewhere.”

“Of course she is, I’m not surprised. She always runs off when I need her most,” Roxy sighs as she pours three servings of the stew and places them on the table. Rose sits down across from you as gracefully as ever. 

 “So, you’re still here. Are you not going to tell the king on us after all?” 

 You look at Roxy, who raises an eyebrow at you, then back to Rose. “I don’t think I have a choice on the matter,” you say as cooly as possible.

 She laughs a bit, then without another word on the matter starts eating her dinner. It seems just like the old days. Almost, but not quite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did anyone call it??


	7. Chapter 7

Dinner goes by quietly, slowly. It’s one of Roxy’s better meals. You help Roxy clean up, like a knight should. It’s nice, you think, living like a normal family. Eating together, cleaning together, spending time together. It’s been so long since you’ve been home, you almost forgot what it was like. It’s peaceful. Too bad your life is far from that.

“I thought she’d be back by now,” Rose murmurs, looking out the window while scrubbing down a bowl. “I hope she’s not planning on staying out there all night...” Her voice trails off and her hands carefully set down the bowl, her eyes still locked on the window. 

 “I’m sure she’s fine,” you give her a brotherly pat on the back. “Witches can handle themselves, right?”

 You swear you can _hear_ Rose rolling her eyes at you. 

 “Besides, I’m sure she just doesn’t wanna run into me again. We’re not exactly on good terms, if you remember. But, if she’s not back by the time we finish cleaning, I’ll go look for her. Knight’s honor.” 

 It’s a last-minute promise, and you know you’re gonna regret it later. She wants nothing to do with you, and frankly, you feel the same way. Magic is no-man’s-land to you, territory you’d prefer never to enter. However, after what Roxy told you, you feel somewhat obligated to help the ex-princess and sister of your best friend, even if you’re not allowed to tell her that.

 “Thank you Dave, we appreciate it,” Rose seems less worried now, which is good. The somber moment is interrupted by a light smack on your shoulder.

 “You call this cleaning? I understand you’re not a servant, but you should at least know how to clean a dish properly!” Roxy shoves said dish in front of your face, and you gotta admit it really is a bad cleaning job. 

 A light chuckle comes from Rose as you take back the bowl and start cleaning it properly. After a good minute or so you hold the bowl up proudly, catching Rose and Roxy’s attention.

 “I would like to say that this sparkling model of perfection was my doing, everyone come see how it outshines the sun it’s so clean.”

 “I think that’s because the sun’s hardly shining anymore, it’s getting late,” Rose counters jokingly, snatching the bowl from your outstretched hand and placing it on the shelf with the others. 

 “If you can make my floors shine like that, I’ll never give you house chores again,” Roxy laughs, taking a good swig of her wine.

 You just might have taken her up on that challenge, but you weren’t home often enough for it to be worth it. Sometimes you wish you were home more often, but you swore to serve the king and duty comes before family now. Or at least, that’s what you’ve been telling yourself. You glance out the window; Rose was right, it really is getting late. By the time the rest of the cleaning is finished, there’s only a sliver of red across the horizon. 

 “I’m going upstairs,” Rose says quietly, checking the window one last time before hastily disappearing up the staircase. 

 You turn to Roxy, and see a hint of worry underneath her calm facade. It must be hard, having to keep track of a young witch-in-training like this. You blame yourself for the most part, she wouldn’t have run off if you hadn’t shown up unexpectedly. But then again it was her fault for trying to contact John for whatever reason. She’s probably fine, just lost track of time or something. A series of doors opening and closing from above is followed by hurried steps across the hallway.

 “She’s still not here,” Rose’s voice calls from the top of the stairs. 

 Roxy looks out the window, checking the edge of the woods for movement. The sun set a while ago, leaving the moon to light the land. You sigh and run a hand through your hair, considering the pros and cons of what you were about to do. Pro, you’d be keeping a promise to your family. Con, there’s a witch out there who definitely doesn’t want you around. Who knows what she can do to you. You’re not really anxious to find out, but a promise is a promise. 

 “I guess I’ll go look for her then. Knight’s honor and all that.” 

 You sensed your family’s eyes watching you as you made your way out. After grabbing your sword, a torch, and the basket you brought with you, you open the back door, letting in a chilled night breeze. You close the door behind you and make your way to the woods, crossing your fingers that you won’t run into any trouble.

 About 30 minutes in, you take a break and lean against a tree, glancing around the area with the help of your torch first. You admitted to yourself right away when you left that this was a bad idea, and now you’re even more certain. You’ve only been in these woods once or twice when you were little before you went off to live with Dirk at the castle. Granted, it’s open enough that you could hopefully find your way back fairly quick, but you honestly have no idea where you’re going or where that witch could possibly be. For all you know she could’ve found her way back on her own by now. What if she doesn’t even want to be found? You bet she definitely wouldn’t want to be found by you, of all people. 

 You walk a bit further, following the sound of a nearby stream. You think back on what Roxy said. Did you really play together as kids? You guess you can slightly remember playing with _someone_ in these woods, but no one besides Rose and Dirk comes to mind.

 A soft snap catches your attention. Your hand moves swiftly to the sword hanging from your belt. A flash of white catches your eye and you brace yourself for battle. You hear a snarl in front of you, and just as you’re about to swing towards the noise your sword disappears from your hand with a flash. A light tingling sensation spreads across your hand where it was once touching the grip of your sword. After a split second of confusion you realize with a mix of relief and dread that you don’t have to worry about finding the witch yourself anymore.

 A large white dog emerges from the bushes, growling at you, and you can feel the point of your own sword against your back. _Way to show off your sweet ass knight skills, Dave._ You pull yourself together and raise your hands in defeat. 

 “You can put my sword down, I’m not here to arrest you or anything.” 

 You can hear her shift her weight behind you, most likely staring you down. With a slight gasp, she lowers the sword. You relax a bit, not realizing how tense you were, then berate yourself for letting a witch get the best of you. 

 “You have my basket,” she says warily, walking around just on the edge of the torchlight where you can barely see her face. The dog stops growling and approaches her, and you notice it doesn’t have eyes. In fact, you recognize that dog, you’ve seen it around the market before when on your patrol. It must’ve gotten into a bad fight for that to happen. The witch reaches down to pet it before raising your sword on you again.

 “Why do you have that and what are you doing here?” 

 “Give me my sword back and maybe I’ll tell you,” you respond shortly, watching her every move.

 She eyes you suspiciously before reluctantly dropping your sword on the ground.

 “Hey, be careful with that, that’s a quality sword right there.”

 She rolls her eyes. 

 “Well fine, be that way. And, if you must know, I’m here because Roxy and Rose are worried about you being out here for too long.”

 “No, I mean why are you _here_?” 

 “What, can’t a guy visit his family?”

Her eyes widen, and when she doesn’t respond, you hold out her basket.

 “Besides, a knight’s gotta do the chivalrous thing and bring back what’s not his, right?”

 She squints at you and cautiously approaches to take the basket. Now fully in the torchlight, you recognize her outfit from earlier in the day. It had been clean then, but now it was covered in dirt and leaves. Her hair was tied back aside from the bangs that fell into her eyes every so often. You can see how she’s related to John. You remember when you first saw her in the dungeon, you hadn’t really payed her that much mind. And now here you were, returning a basket to a witch who happened to be royalty taken in by your own family. Small world.

 She looks through the basket, making sure all the items were still there. Seeing that they were, she lets out a sigh of relief.

 “Thank goodness, I didn’t want to have to get all this again…” she pauses and looks up at you. “So, uh, why aren’t you gonna arrest me?”

 “Let’s just say Roxy’s a really convincing person,” you shrug. It’s not the whole reason, but it’s definitely part of it. 

 Honestly, you feel like you’re betraying the king and your duties by _not_ taking her back to the dungeons. You try to make yourself feel better by considering how she’d probably just escape anyway even if you tried to arrest her. Still, you can’t help the twinge of guilt stuck in the back of your mind. If not the king, you’re going against your own morals towards witches and they’re evil tendencies. You’ll admit, this one doesn’t seem that bad, but with witches, you can never be too sure.

 

 ==> Jade: Introduce yourself

 You’re too busy considering how many times you’ve seen this guy today to think about introducing yourself to him. 

 Okay, so you’ve only seen him twice, but that’s more than you wanted to see him in a lifetime, so it feels like a lot.

You’re glad he brought you his stuff, but there’s still something really off about this situation that’s making you nervous. Bec nuzzles up against your leg as if he senses your nerves, and you throw him an apple from your regained basket.

 “That’s some dog you have there,” the knight comments, picking up his sword from where you dropped it. He dusts it off on his pant leg and sheaths it.

 “I found him in the city and brought him home with me. I just cleaned him up in the river, actually,” you nod your head towards the sound of the water. You’re surprised at how easily you can talk to this guy. Just this morning, he tried to take you captive again. And now here you were, talking about Bec with this guy who’s apparently Rose’s brother. It’s a small world after all, huh.

 “I’ve actually seen him around, guess he’s glad he’s got a family now, right?” He knelt down and held a hand out towards Bec.

 Bec looks up from eating to inspect the new scent and promptly licks it like there’s more food there. The knight smirks, pats Bec’s head, and pulls himself back up to face you. 

 “Name’s Dave, by the way, I don’t think we’ve been officially introduced.”

 “Jade.”

 “Well, Jade, if you don’t mind, I don’t really know how to get back from here, so I’d really appreciate it if you could show the way.”

  _He came out here not knowing where he was going? Geez, he’s lucky I was around to find him._ You scratch Bec’s head to get him to follow you and turn around to head home. You check often to make sure Dave’s still behind you during the trip and try to avoid making small talk. He doesn’t seem all bad, but you’re still wondering what changed between this morning and now. 

 By the time you can see the house on the horizon, you’re yawning heavily. You didn’t realize how tired you were. It takes all your energy to get to the back door when suddenly you’re jolted awake by a very worried Roxy. She hugs you, kisses you, wonders what in heavens name happened to your new dress, and goes on asking every kind of question relating to your absence. Mostly you just lost track of time, but she doesn’t accept that as an answer even though it’s the truth. 

 “Honestly, I don’t know what gets into you kids!” she cries, taking another sip of wine. Sip might be an understatement. “Thanks for getting her, Dave, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

 “Probably the same things you’ve done since I left to live at the castle, I’d assume.” 

In your exhaustion, you completely forgot about Dave. He was leaning in the doorway behind you, stifling a yawn himself. You were both equally tired then. You guess it’s kinda your fault for staying out so late, but whatever.  

“I hope you don’t need to get back to the castle tonight, Dave, it’s too late to head back now. You better stay here to rest.” Roxy starts pushing both of you towards the stairs until you both walk up on your own. You think she sends a questioning glance at Dave, but you’re too tired to care. 

Bec follows you up the stairs and into your room as you sluggishly walk over and fall flat on your bed, drifting immediately to sleep. 

What a day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I don't really have an excuse for the huge delay in getting this chapter out, and I'm really sorry about that, but thank you so much for your patience! 
> 
> I promise I'll follow through with this story til the end, no matter how long it takes me!


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